Interior door handle slack

my interior door handle only engages after it’s already halfway out. if anybody knows exactly what part causes this so that I can order the piece before I rip my door apart to try and fix it that would be sick. I’m pretty sure it’s something to do with the bar that connects the latch to the door handle? Let me know if you have a solution or other info.

 

You’d be better off pulling the panel first to see what’s going on. The rod could be bent or the connection points could have issues. It could also be with the latch itself. It’s not hard to remove the panel.

Take off the plastic caps below the door handle and unscrew those screws. Unscrew the screw holding the handle on, then pop off the rod with a small flathead. Slide the handle forward to remove it. Then you just pull on the panel to pop it off the door all the way around.

 

I’d start by removing that handle (one screw) and seeing if there is anything obvious there. If not then I’d move to removing the entire door panel to inspect the mechanism over towards the door latch. But the problem is either right there at the handle or at the latch.